Lose Control
by SkyyeStrike
Summary: Her nails dragged heavy, deep red gashes, watered down to thin tendrils that danced along her skin. Not fair Not fair Not fair. They probably planned this whole thing, that's why she kept seeing Sasuke around, kept seeing his face, his coal black eyes, his hair the color of liquid midnight. She wasn't crazy. She wasn't, She wasn't, She wasn't- Sakura centric. No pairings -ONESHOT-


**__Sorry for the long time since an update... Read why at the end. R&R!**

* * *

_You know what it's like to lose control._

_The emptiness inside you feeding your soul_

_By the time it's done you'll be deaf from the screaming_

_Have you had enough?_

* * *

_November 12-_

The coffin was plain, with none of the prestige it should have had, but all the subtleness Sasuke had wanted. Buffed black, clean cut edges, and aside from the Uchiha Clan symbol, the cover was bare. It was simple, sad and it looked very, very lonely.

Not many had attended, mainly those that had known him. Ino had shown up in somber black, along with Shikamaru and Chouji, both staring quietly into the pit. Kiba and Hinata had shown up, Hinata with a single white lily clutched between her pale fingers, though Shino wasn't anywhere to be seen. She could feel the barest hints of Kakashi's chakra a couple hundred meters away.

Naruto was there too, looking downcast and bleak, still patched and torn in places. His cheeks were hollowed in, his normally bright sky blue eyes as dark and stormy as the sky above them. He was probably out of the hospital without permission again, though Sakura wouldn't know. She hadn't been to the hospital in months, couldn't bare to see the cuts and bruises, the broken bones… the celebrations.

Four months, a week and two days. That's how long it had been. Naruto's shattered wrist was slowly healing itself, the minor concussion nearly gone except for his sometimes blurred vision. Kakashi had settled into his Hokage seat, adapting quickly and quietly in the newfound absence of Tsunade. It looked like he didn't plan on a long stay by the way he was interacting with the other Kage's though. Not that it mattered to Sakura. All she could really focus on lately were those misted black eyes.

It was sad, really. The rain was falling, as it should be on a day like this, and the coffin was lowered slowly into it's reserved pit, on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound. The headstone was small and just as plain as it's coffin, inscribed in dull lettering "Sasuke Uchiha." The village wouldn't give anything else to a rogue S-rank ninja. The same as he wouldn't be added to the stone where he should be.

For some reason, Sakura couldn't seem to forgive the council elders; for all that they had been replaced. It was there fault in the beginning, and this little tidbit of venom, left over after years of hatred and bitterness was nearly impossible.

Sakura felt her eyes drag themselves back to the headstone, running over the script and then back up to the steadily drizzling sky.

* * *

_November 23-_

Four months, two weeks and a day.

She was coping well in her view. Naruto was due to be free of the hospital in another month, she was allowed to go back at the end of the month, and the sun had been shining non-stop despite the creeping cold that signaled the beginning of winter.

Sometimes, Sakura would feel the suffocating waves of despair and depression begin to quake at the edges of her vision, threatening and dark, but that was a normal reaction to the death of a loved one, or at least that's what the doctor had told her. She'd shove it down and continue on with her day, never better, never worse.

Ino was a great help. While Sakura couldn't work at the hospital, Ino had let her help around the flower shop, trimming ends of flowers, filling vases with fresh water, puttering around and making herself busy. It was a good sidetrack from thinking about… about…

His name was hard to say. Naruto was having the same issues, and anytime the doctors would mention him at their group therapy appointments, he'd get a dark look and go silent until the subject was changed. The behavior made the doctors frown, though Sakura wasn't much better on the case. It didn't matter. It was too soon, too raw.

Sometimes, Sakura could still see those eyes…

* * *

_November 30-_

Five months.

Almost five months and Naruto was following her.

He'd been tailing her since she left the department store. She could feel his eyes on her back, watching her every move, studying her. She could imagine what he was seeing, her in her relaxed garb (red t-shirt, black pants, kunai concealed on the straps on her back), carrying a bag of groceries in one hand, a book in the other, her hair tied back. He was probably on the rooftops. It wasn't busy up there this late in the afternoon, easy to follow her from there. A good vantage point if he lost her.

Normally that hadn't been Naruto's job. Sasuke had always taken care of it, silent and swift like a shadow. When he was busy, Sai would send his ink rats out, scout the area, monitor what Sasuke couldn't. Naruto had been the hit man, she'd been the recon, and Sai was the bait. They were the ultimate team.

The hairs on the back of her neck tingling, Sakura sidestepped the creaky stair, and the one she'd set a trap on, reaching for her key and giving it the extra twist it needed to open her door. Groceries on the table, key on the hook. Book on the chair-

Sakura twisted as quickly as she could, striving to see a glimpse of blonde hair, a flash of blue eyes, anything to confirm her suspicions. He was there, he had to be. She just needed a little bit of confirmation, that was all, one little slip up,

Finally, Sakura turned back, sitting herself primly on her chair, book in hand as she flicked on the light. Her eyes skimmed a page, feeling the eyes on her face again, watching, studying waiting. It was nerve wracking. He was driving her nuts.

Sakura dropped the book to the floor promptly, stomping to the door. If he wasn't going to show his face, she'd have to catch him in the act. Flinging open the door (not caring that it had been flung a bit too hard and there was now a dent in the plaster), Sakura skittered past her traps, moving as quickly as she could to the lobby of her apartment building.

Outside, she took to the alleys. Naruto's house was half a mile away, the fastest route through three back alleys, over a brick wall, and down a side street. Moving like a bird, Sakura practically flew towards Naruto's building, ignoring the door and hopping from windowsill to windowsill. Naruto's window was open half an inch at the bottom and flinging it open was easy enough.

"Naruto!"

There was a yelp, scrambling around and Sakura raced to the light, scrambling to find the switch.

Naruto, half dressed in black wouldn't have been surprising. Naruto shuffling to look relaxed after being out following her would have been expected. Kiba, pulling up his pants with a startled Hinata behind him, swaddled in Naruto's frog blanket, was not any of this.

"Kiba?" She asked incredulously. Her eyes flickered to Hinata who was by now a lovely shade of tomato (those had been _his_ favorite), then back to Kiba who was spluttering uncontrollable as he pulled up his fly. "Why are you here?"

Kiba glanced at the floor, apparently looking for something substantial for Hinata to put on. "W-well, Naruto asked me to water his plants and he said he could use his place while he was gone s-so-"

"Oh so he has been out." Sakura grinned. "And where might that bastard be? He was following me, wasn't he? I knew it. I totally knew, and when I get my hands on that asshole-" She stopped herself, noticing the strange stillness from Kiba and Hinata.

Kiba had stopped rooting around of the upturned sheets of Naruto's bed and Hinata was staring at her, her pale eyes wide and shocked. Sakura looked from one to the other, confused. "What? Why are you giving me that look?"

Kiba's eyes measured her with a wariness his gaze never normally held. "Sakura, Naruto's still in the hospital for another two weeks." He said quietly.

Sakura's jaw shut with an audible click. Her eyes looked to Hinata for confirmation, and the girl gave a small nod, the blankets still clutched to her chest. Sakura felt herself go tightlipped and without a word, she left the way she came, the window shutting with a harder than it should have been slam.

* * *

_December 9-_

Even allowed back at the hospital, Sakura continued her work at Ino's. When she was home alone, she'd bake, or cook, or paint, or anything that would keep her busy. Staying still at all lately was becoming hard.

Little tasks were all she had to distract her. They kept her busy, kept her moving, but they weren't enough. Her thoughts would begin to shift, her mood start to darken, and only a quick snap of the rubber band that lay over her wrist was enough to keep her out of a lapse. The rubber band was becoming her best friend quickly, if not the best friend of the skin on her wrist.

Over five months since he had died. Naruto was visiting her more now that he was able to walk about freely. Sometimes, when he thought she wasn't looking, she'd see him get this lost look, like he wasn't quite sure what to do anymore, but the minute her mouth opened, that bright, cheesy grin was in full view, happy and flawless. It was like he was handling her like porcelain.

Come to think of it, everyone had been. Ino's voice always got softer, Hinata's eyes kinder, Shikamaru always gave her this long thoughtful look, like he was measuring her. Hell, even Kiba seemed to be watching his speech around her. It was close to infuriating! Or as close to infuriating as she could seem to get as of late. Everything kept seeming to dull, the normally intense flavors of emotions fading until they were only a watery imitation of what they had been. It made her feel small and protected, borderline on helpless. Like glass.

It was frustrating. She had worked so hard to get where she was and still she felt useless. There wasn't even anything to feel useless about anymore! Sasuke was home (in a way), Naruto was recuperating well, and Kakashi was done pestering them for the time being, busy with his job as he was. God she just needed something to distract her.

Sakura was itching for a mission, something to get her out of this rut and out of the village for a while. Away from the pitying and knowing looks that made her stomach churn uncomfortably. It wasn't possible though. Standard leave for Ninja when a teammate died in combat it two months. For an Anbu, it was four. More than once Sakura cursed the tattoo on her shoulder that marked her status as a ranking Anbu member of the village.

* * *

_December 10-_

Maybe he wasn't dead. It would be just like him to fake it all, stay under the radar. He'd always been quiet about his matters, secretive even. Pulling this stunt would be a typical Sasuke thing to do. Maybe Naruto knew (because Sasuke told Naruto more things than anyone else) and he was keeping it from her. Tsunade would know; she was the one who pronounced him dead. Maybe they were all keeping it from her, making sure she couldn't see him. God, why would they do something like that? The assholes.

They probably planned this whole thing, that's why she kept seeing Sasuke around, kept seeing his face, his coal black eyes, his hair the color of liquid midnight, his beautiful body, carved by angels, god they were doing it just to get to her.

She'd get them. She knew she would.

* * *

_December 14-_

Her nails dragged heavy along her arms, deep red gashes, watered down to thin tendrils that danced along her skin and onto the bottom of the tub. Not fair, not fair. She didn't know how Naruto could stand it, covered in marks given to him by them everyday, every time he looked at himself in the mirror, glaring, glaring, glaring…

Another drag, another fiery burst of ripped skin. It would be easier to grab her kunai from under the sink and shred off the layer of ink on her shoulder, but somehow it felt wrong to dirty a weapon to pure with something so tainted.

A scream was bubbling in her throat again. They wouldn't stop, wouldn't leave her alone, it wasn't fair, it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't it-

A clatter. From inside her home. In an instant, Sakura was out of the shower, the kunai she had just been thinking about gripped in her palm, the other hand gripping a towel to her chest. The door opened silently on well-greased hinges, letting out a flow of steam into the hallway.

Hall was clear, so were the first and second bedrooms. Creeping down the hallway with her heart pounding in her ears and droplets of water tracing her tracks down to the bathroom, the kitchen was clear, all that was left was the front-

A sudden choke in her constricting throat, a hitch of breath. There was the silky black hair, coarse and thick enough to stand up at the back. The pale skin, Coal eyes with deep purple bags beneath them. He looked worn and tired and just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

A deep keening noise started at the back of her throat and coiled up into a full-blown wail as she threw herself at him. He was solid and warm in her arms and oh so real, god and she loved him so much so so so much and he was there and he still smelled of the mint and pine she'd found in his room oh so long ago. She clung to him like her life depended on it. Her towel was probably long gone but who cared. She had him and she was never going to let go, never ever never ever never ever never ever.

Sakura woke disoriented and confused, lying on the hallway floor Sasuke's old blanket (the one she'd taken from his house when he left) sticking to her chest. The door was bumping against her foot, Naruto's blonde head peeking through curiously and somewhat worriedly at her.

"Sakura, you okay? You're neighbor called and said she'd heard screaming and I thought you-" Naruto stopped himself, the blockade in his eyes smothering something wild and uncontrollable. "I wanted to check to see if you were okay."

Sakura stared at him. Why was he here? Where did Sasuke go? She looked down at the blanket, then at her naked body beneath before blushing and standing up quickly, blanket wrapped around her as tightly as possible. She must look crazy, sleeping by the door naked and covered in a ratty old blanket. Crazy or sluttish, she guessed.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Though I saw a… mouse. That's all." Weak excuse. Naruto looked like he didn't buy it for a second, but knowing she wouldn't say anything else, shrugged.

"Well, okay, but if you need anything," He pinned her with those oh so blue eyes, the scar over his right eyebrow standing out starkly beneath his blonde bangs. "Call me. Seriously." He gave her a pointed look and after a few seconds, shut the door himself.

Sakura let out a heavy sigh and headed back towards the bathroom. She must've sounded as crazy as she looked. God, Naruto would probably never let it go, he was wary enough around her as it was. At least she wasn't crazy.

Sakura's hand paused on the door handle and she stared at the shiny brass knob quietly. She wasn't crazy, was she?

* * *

_December 20-_

The rubber band snapped.

Sakura stared at it with wide eyes. The flesh on her wrist was covered in darkening red welts, some old enough to have darkened to the dark purple and blue of a bruise, or littered with tiny blood blisters. Sakura blinked. She hadn't even known she'd been snapping it, hadn't realized it had become a reflex for whenever she had become unhappy, and with an internal shudder, realized that she had done this to herself.

"Sakura? You okay?" Ino was giving her a concerned look from where she was sitting, her chopsticks holding onto a sliver of bamboo shoot. Sakura blinked at her owlishly, before nodding.

"Uh, yeah. Fine." She gave a swallow as the smell of burning meat reached her nose. Grasping her chopsticks firmly, She snatched her piece of meat off the grill and ate it in one swift bite, grinning at Ino as happily as she could through a mouthful of meat. "Thanks for bringing me! Too bad Chouji couldn't come!" She chirped.

Ino nodded at her, gray-blue eyes skittering over her face as if trying to read her hidden motives. "Yeah. Re-con mission with Shikamaru and all. Too bad…" Ino ate the bamboo shoot, watching her own cooking food carefully.

Beneath the table, Sakura's hidden hand clutched the rubber band like a lifeline.

* * *

_December 31-_

The day the gardening shears sank into the flesh of her wrist instead of the potting soil, Sakura decided enough was enough. She was balancing between teetering moments of sweet blankness and jarring bouts of tears all the time now. The distractions weren't enough, the days too short, the nights too long, and the moments in between were blurring. She hadn't slept in days, and she was jittery out in the open. Naruto had been visiting more and more often, sometimes twice a day for small things. A cup of sugar, a small gift, a question on a scroll, small mundane things he could've easily asked a person closer to him. Instead, he wound up at her door, two kilometers from his home with that adorably fake smile.

Tightly wound, Sakura yanked the shears from her wrist. She couldn't even feel the pain at the ends of her sliced skin where it should have felt like pins and needles.

"Sakura!"

Sakura jolted and time seemed to slow to a glacial pace, like she'd been submerged in blasting jelly. Her head turned and there he was, looking horror struck, his black hair held away from his face in a hair tie, his eyes wide and scared. He ran towards her, snatching a cloth from the folds of the gardening apron he wore. He was just as handsome as she remembered, and his eyes were clear, clear and shiny like bits of burning coal, smoldering in the hearth.

He pried the shears from her numb hand, mouth moving rapidly, but Sakura couldn't hear anything. The jelly had seeped into her ears, made it impossible to hear him and he was staring at her, yelling and everything was muffled.

"-king? Sakura! Are you even listening? Sakura!"

It was Ino's voice. Ino's voice coming from the angelically pale lips. Sakura blinked, confused and suddenly, He was gone, replaced by a worried, terrified looking best friend. Ino was pressing down on her wrist, which now burned something awful.

"Huh, wha-? What?" Sakura said. He voice felt scratchy like she hadn't talked in days. Had she? She couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember?

"God, Sakura, what are you, nuts? Why the hell would you do something like that?" Ino was yelling, practically shrieking and curious customers were peeking around pots and plants. A woman covered her mouth when she saw Sakura, covered in blood with a pair of bloody shears on the ground beside her.

Ino was speaking again, tugging and pulling Sakura up from her position kneeling on the floor. "Come on, we have to get this stitched. I'll get Tsunade to do it." Ino looked absolutely terrified and she wouldn't meet Sakura's eyes. All Sakura could focus on was the burning of her skin and the sticky wetness coming from her wrist.

She spent that New Years in the hospital room, getting stitched up by a smooth faced Tsunade and being watched like a hawk by Naruto.

* * *

_January 7-_

The bandages still tugged a little at the scab, but that was all that was really left. That and a few dozen other, smaller hashes, parallel and pretty against the cream of her skin, crisscrossing over the old, still-lingering welts from her long-lost rubber band. The first time had been an experiment, just to see if she could find that numbness she had found before. A personal experiment.

The physical numbness never came, but miraculously, her thoughts stayed clear, focused on the task at hand instead of anything else. It was like floating on cloud nine, free from everything. It was wonderful, like the time she'd tried ecstasy except without taking the pill and without the screaming sweaty crowd…. Sasuke had been on that mission. He'd watched from the rafters as she and Naruto had made out on the wall. They'd distracted the target enough for Sai to slip Taipan venom into his glass. The target had died of a heart attack, she and Naruto slipped out the back for more "fun," Sai got away unscathed, they'd all met up the next morning.

Sakura gave a little shudder as the kunai dragged itself over her skin, barely the tip slicing into her skin, creating a third tiny plus. Lines were so boring, why not make it pretty? Plus's were positive, and positive was good right? Better than negative, better than he was, better than better than better than-

Ouch. The kunai had sunk lower than she expected, digging into a fleshy stop near her tendon, just missing her vein. Dropping the kunai, Sakura's thumbs pressed to the tip of the slice, kneading up, watching as a drop of the blood dribbled over the side of her wrist. She was better. She'd worked for years to be better. There was nothing wrong with that. Nothing.

* * *

_January 14-_

Why the fuck did no one care? Why did it seem like she was the only one who knew he existed? It hadn't even been a week!

Sakura blinked. A week… a month? It had been… been…

The boy Sakura had been working on stares up at her with big black soulful eyes and a cherub-like face. Sakura feels the sudden urge to smack him. How could he not care? Didn't he know how much of a legend Sasuke was? Sakura's breath hitched as sudden blinding images of bleeding eyes, bloodied skin, alighted fury take over her vision. Then the boy. The boy with big black eyes and a cherub-like face and she wants to… wants to-

_Crack!_

The sound echoed down the hallway and several faces turn towards them. A shocked mother covered her mouth, her grip tightening on her little girl's hand. Sakura was still frozen, her hand was still in the air as the boy turns back to look at her, and those eyes were big as dinner plates, widening, widening, watering, his face beginning to crack into the building ear-shattering wail and Sakura couldn't stop herself. She pulled her hand back and-

Naruto was there. His hand gripped around her wrist like iron, stopping her mid-swing. Sakura felt herself begin to breathe again (she didn't know when she stopped), deep shuddering gasping breaths that tore through her chest like fire until she curls up on the floor, hugging her stomach and struggling to breath around the wracking sobs that shake her whole body. Naruto, tight-lipped bent down and picked her up, an arm behind her shoulders, another beneath her legs. He carried her home, tucked her into bed, and all Sakura kept seeing was Sasuke in his place. Sasuke had carried her home, had set her in bed, and had made her a bowl of noodles that she could eat when she woke up. The blurs of Naruto were small, spaced between, and no matter how many times Sakura tried to tell herself that it was Naruto, not Sasuke, that Sasuke was gone, and he'd never make her ramen, her eyes wouldn't listen.

Sakura fell asleep to the sound of her muffled sobs at the realization that maybe she was going crazy.

* * *

_January 28-_

The rest of her days began to go bleak. There were no more visits to the hospital, no more days spent at Ino's flower shop, just days alone in her apartment, herself, her memories and her window.

Well, almost. Naruto came, twice a day, with his cherry bright smile and another gift basket. God, she was drowning in the things, surrounded everyday by them. And when she had complained to Naruto about it, he'd just smiled, brought another the next day, and towed the old back home with him. Along with her favorite set of kunai.

As had become a trend. He'd come, stay for an hour, leave with a basket, loaded with all her old weapons. Sakura supposed this meant she was discharged from duty, though she couldn't tell. The mail she would have received it in was lying piled, unopened, unread, on her kitchen counter, heaped near what she supposed were dirty dishes, though she didn't seem to have the energy to check and see.

She knew she should clean, should get up and do something, anything, but god, what was the point. No one cared; she doubted that anyone remembered her anymore anyways. Naruto was only here out of obligation. She could see it, could see it every time he looked at her, watching her, always watching.

A small part of her mind protested, screamed that that was wrong, Naruto would never do something like that, what was she thinking, why couldn't she get a grip, why why why why why why why why-

"Shuttup!" Sakura screamed. Her hands gripped at her hair, tugging at the strands, tugging until the fiery burn at her scalp and the _snap snap snap_ of strands were loud in her ears. Just -

* * *

_February 1-_

"Mroooow."

Sakura stared at the gold eyes blankly, watching as they stared right back, completely unblinking. Her gaze shifted up to the person holding the cat.

Naruto was grinning brightly, holding the cat out to her, letting its tail flick quietly as he smiled. "See? Isn't he cute?"

"What the fuck is this?" Sakura snapped.

Naruto's reaction was immediate, his face fell, and his arms sagged, making the cat protest at it's lack of altitude. "… You don't like it?" He whimpered, oh so pathetically Sakura could nearly taste it thick on her tongue. Naruto held it up again. "How can you resist that face though? It's so cute!"

Sakura's nose wrinkled and she looked back at the cat. It was black, long and sleek, with wide gold eyes and pointed ears. It sat unmoving in Naruto's jostling grip and stared stared stared-

Sakura reached for it before the action even registered in her brain. Naruto's smile grew twice as large as she'd seen it in months as she settled the cat into the crook of her arms. It gave an annoyed mewl and licked it's nose surreptitiously, wiggling until it was comfortable. Sakura turned her gaze back to Naruto.

Naruto rubbed the back of his blonde head. "I call him Ruki, but I don't know if you like that. I just thought with you being cooped up here and every- Hey, hey, wait! Sakur-"

Sakura let the door slam shut, not caring that it was probably rude. Her eyes were fixated on the cat that was staring at her with such intensity, boring into her skull, demanding, forcing, waiting, waiting waiting waiting.

Sakura set the cat down on her counter. She could hear Naruto knocking on her door, but he'd go away eventually. The cat stared at her ominously, watching as she puttered around, rooting until she'd found what she was looking for; the cleanest bowl, and some milk to go in it. Pouring enough to cover the bottom, Sakura set it down in from of the cat.

The cat didn't move, staring at her impassively. She tapped the bowl with a single, unclipped nail and finally it looked down. It sniffed the milk, before crouching down, and lapping at the drink quietly.

Sakura gave a tiny, miniscule smile. Just like him. The cat was just like him.

Out of spite, Sakura decided to name him Uchi.

* * *

_February 14-_

Naruto took a deep breath, walking along the familiar paths it took to get to Sakura's. Everyone had doubted, no one had though it possible, but he had believed. Granny Tsunade had plain told him to give up, that at this point, Sakura was a lost cause, that it was only a matter of time before she was sent to Konoha's asylum, but Naruto had just asked for more time, and it had worked.

The cat had been a good choice. The minute he'd seen Sakura's eyes settle on it, it was like a flame reigniting those jade green eyes, one he'd missed. Sakura had begun to recover. It had taken nearly seven months, but finally, she was getting better. The marks on her wrist had begun healing, untouched in nearly two weeks now. She'd cut her hair, washed her clothes, cleaned herself up. The cat had a shiny new color, a red one and looked as happy as a clam in it's new home.

When he'd told Granny, she'd been skeptical, told him to keep watching her, look for signs. Naruto had laughed, telling her she was worrying too much, that Sakura was going to be fine. She was, he knew it.

She adored that cat. Anytime it was around, her gaze would flicker to it, watch it as it moved, before returning to the conversation. It was amazing to watch, after seeing her nearly disintegrate in front of him; it was amazing to see her get better so quickly.

Tugging at his jacket, Naruto swiftened his pace, two tickets to a fireworks show clutched in his hand. Maybe it was too soon, but he thought he'd try and get her out of that house a bit. She's been in there too long, and it would be good for her to get a breath of fresh air, and this years' fireworks were supposed to be good.

Stepping lightly down the hallways to her room, Naruto hummed at bit, knocking on her door. On the other side, he could hear Ruki scratch a bit, meowing through the wood and Naruto clicked his tongue. She was probably in the shower or something. She wouldn't mind if he let himself in. Maybe grabbed one of the spare cups of ramen he'd stored in her cupboard a while back…

With ramen on his mind, Naruto opened the door, humming a bit. Ruki crawled its way up his leg, meowing complainitively and Naruto shooed him away. "Go, Go away. I want ramen. Go get Sakura or something." Ruki blinked it's huge gold eyes up at him. Naruto's brow furrowed. Did Ruki look different or something? Something was off…

A glint of silvery white caught his attention. Naruto smacked his forehead. Of course. Sakura had gotten Ruki a charm for his collar. Smiling, Naruto reached down to pick up the cat.

"Oh, look, did Ruki get a pretty pendant? Did he? Did he? Ye-" Naruto paused, fingers tracing the edges of the pendant. A chill ran through his blood as he registered the small red and white fan shape that hung prettily from Ruki's neck. Gulping, Naruto listened for the telltale sounds of the shower running.

Silence.

"Sakura?" Down the hallway, around the corner. The bathroom door was open, but Sakura's bedroom door was closed. Maybe she was exercising or something. She'd probably yell at him again for not giving her warning before he came over again.

Holding Ruki in one arm, Naruto knocked on the door. "Hey Sakura, you in there?" No response. Naruto frowned. Maybe she couldn't hear him. He tried again, knocking louder this time. "Sakura, it's me, Naruto!" Eyebrows furrowing, Naruto opened the door pushing it aside.

"I just have a question about this tag you got… for…"

Naruto trailed off, arms going slack. Ruki dropped to the floor on his feet, padding lightly and sniffing at the toes that hung suspended in the air. The smell of death hung heavy in the air, and Sakura, swaying in the breeze of her open window, hung with it, right there, quiet and silent, with her eyes bugged and her lips blue.

Naruto's hand dropped from the knob as he stared, and Ruki gave a louder meow than before, the Uchiha symbol that hung around his neck glistening in the afternoon light.

* * *

**I know it's been a long time, but I've just recently gotten a computer back (haven't had one since last december... T^T) and I am just now sorting out family issues, so please don't be mad!**

**This is more of an exercise to get myself back in gear for my other stories. To those of you following Akuma No Yona Sekai That I just have to work out a few more plotline kinks and then it will be back up and running. Also, to those of you who have messaged me, yes I've read all your messages, but I have been unable to answer them as of yet... I promise I'll get right on that.**

**Sakura. Going Crazy. Plausible to happen if Sasuke ends up dying. Would Naruto take care of her? Most likely. Would she be considered possibly suicidal. Sure, but she probably wouldn't hang herself. I see her as more of stabbing herself on site before any of this happened... Let's just assume she passed out and someone took her home before she could do herself any bodily damage ;D.**

**God, I am a sick bitch...**

**This didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but I'm done tweaking it. It's been two weeks. Take it as it is.**

**Song from top: Feeding (feat. Martin Harp) - Voicians. **

**I find it's lyrics very fitting to this scenario ^**

**Read and Review please!**


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